Does Prague need two opera houses?

The Czech Minister for Culture Vaclav Jehlicka has announced a number of budget cuts and raised the issue of a possible merger of Prague's two opera houses: the National Theatre and the State Opera. Vera Drapelova comments: "In the euphoria after 1990 everything looked rosy. Vienna, Berlin and Paris have more than one opera house so why shouldn't Prague? people asked... The State Opera has gone through 15 years of agony. It never achieved a clear profile as an alternative to the National Theatre. The 'second' opera houses in other European capitals, such as the Komische Oper in Berlin, the Volksoper in Vienna or London's English National Opera, all differ dramatically from the 'first' houses in these cities. They either have a much wider programme, a repertoire which includes operettas and musicals, or radical production concepts. The State Opera in Prague provides none of this - just more of what the National Theatre has to offer. This situation is intolerable."

» full article (external link, Czech)
More from the press review on the subject » Music, » Cultural Policy, » Czech Republic